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Chapter 1

Introduction

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We reach backward to our parents and

forward to our children, and through
their children to a future we will never
see, but about which we need to care.
- Carl Jung
Swiss Psychiatrist, 20th Century

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Learning Goals
1. Discuss the life-span perspective of
development.
2. Identify the most important developmental
processes and periods.
3. Describe three key developmental issues.

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Introduction
The Life-Span
Perspective

Developmental
Processes and
Periods

Developmental
Issues

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T h e L ife -S p a n
P e rs p e c tiv e

W h y S tu d y
L ife -S p a n
D e v e lo p m e n t?

T h e H is to ric a l
P e rs p e c tiv e

C h a ra c te ris tic s
o f th e L ife -S p a n
P e rs p e c tiv e

Som e
C o n te m p o ra ry
C o n c e rn s

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Why Study Life-Span

Development?
You can gain insight into your own life.
You will learn about life through the
adulthood.
You may be a parent or a teacher some day.
Life-span development is linked with many
different areas of psychology.

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Definition of Development
The pattern of change that
begins at conception and
continues through the life cycle.

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The Historical Perspective

Original Sin - children were perceived as
being basically bad, born into the world as
evil beings.
Tabula Rasa - children are like a blank
tablet, and acquire their characteristics
through experience.
Innate Goodness - children are inherently
good.

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Traditional Approach vs. LifeSpan Approach

The traditional approach emphasizes
extensive change from birth to
adolescence, little or no change in
adulthood, and decline in late old age.
The life-span approach emphasizes
developmental change during
adulthood as well as childhood.

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Characteristics of the LifeSpan Perspective

Development is lifelong
Development is multidimensional
Development is multidirectional
Development is plastic
Development is multidisciplinary
Development is contextual
Development involves growth, maintenance,
and regulation

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Development is Lifelong
No age period dominates
development.
Researchers increasingly study the
experiences and psychological
orientations of adults at different
points in their development.

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Development is
Multidimensional
There are biological dimensions.
There are cognitive dimensions.
There are socioemotional
dimensions.

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Development is
Multidirectional
Some dimensions or components
of a dimension increase in growth.
Some dimensions or components
of a dimension decrease in growth.

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Development is Plastic
Plasticity involves the degree to
which characteristics change or
remain stable.

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Development is
Multidisciplinary

Psychologists
Sociologists
Anthropologists
Neuroscientists
Medical Researchers

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Development is Contextual
Normative age-graded
influences
Normative history-graded
influences
Nonnormative life events

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The Three Goals of Human

Development
Growth
Maintenance
Regulation

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Some Contemporary Concerns

Health and Well-Being
Parenting
Education
Sociocultural Contexts
Social Policy

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Health and Well-Being

Drug and alcohol use during pregnancy

Genetic counseling
Breast- versus bottle-feeding
Early intervention
School health programs
At-risk adolescents
Womens health issues
Exercise
Addiction and recovery
Loneliness
Adaptive physical skills in aging adults
Coping with death

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Parenting

Day care
Working parents and latchkey children
Effects of divorce on children
The best way to parent
Child maltreatment
Support systems for families
Marital relationships
Intergenerational relationships
Aging parents

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Education

Variations in early childhood education

Ethnicity, social class, schools
Programs to improve childrens critical thinking
School/family coordination
Cooperative learning
How to avoid stifling childrens creativity
Bilingual education
The best schools for adolescents

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Sociocultural Contexts
Context
Culture
Ethnicity
Gender

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Some Examples of Context

Homes
Schools
Peer groups
Churches
Cities
Neighborhoods
University laboratories
Countries

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Definition of Culture
The behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other
products of a group that are passed on from
generation to generation.
Cross-cultural studies involve comparisons of
one culture with one or more other cultures.
These provide information about the degree
to which development is similar, or universal,
across cultures, and to the degree to which it
is culture-specific.

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Ethnicity
A characteristic based on
cultural heritage, nationality
characteristics, race, religion,
and language.

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Gender
The social dimension of being
male or female.

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Social Policy
A national governments course
of action designed to promote the
welfare of its citizens.
The shape and scope of social
policy is strongly tied to our
political system.

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Developmental
Processes and Periods
Biological,
Cognitive, and
Socioemotional
Processes

Periods of
Development

Age and
Happiness

Conceptions
of Age

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Biological Processes
Involve changes in the individuals physical
nature such as:
Height and weight gains
Development of the brain
Changes in motor skills
Hormonal changes in puberty
Cardiovascular decline

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Cognitive Processes
Involve changes in the individuals thought,
intelligence, and language such as:
Watching a mobile swing above a crib
Creating a two-word sentence
Memorizing a poem
Imagining being a movie star
Solving a crossword puzzle

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Socioemotional Processes
Involve changes in the individuals
relationships with other people, changes in
emotions, and changes in personality such as:
An infant smiling from her mothers touch
A young boy hitting a playmate
A girls development of assertiveness
The joy of a senior prom
The affection of an elderly couple

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Periods of Development

The prenatal period

Infancy
Early childhood
Middle and late childhood
Adolescence
Early adulthood
Middle adulthood
Late adulthood

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The Prenatal Period

The time from conception to birth
From a single cell to an organism
complete with a brain and
behavioral capabilities
Approximately a 9-month
period

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Infancy
The developmental period from
birth to 18 or 24 months
A time of extreme dependency on
adults
Many psychological activities are
just beginning

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Early Childhood
The developmental period extending from the
end of infancy to about 5 or 6 years
Often called the preschool years
Children learn to become more self-sufficient
Children now develop school readiness skills
Children spend many hours playing with
peers

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Middle and Late Childhood

The developmental period extending from
about 6 to 11 years of age
Approximately corresponds to the elementary
school years
Fundamental skills of reading, writing, and
arithmetic are mastered
Child is formally exposed to larger world and
its culture

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Adolescence
The developmental period of transition
from childhood to early adulthoodentered
at 10-12 years, ending at 18-22 years
Begins with rapid physical changes.
Pursuit of independence and identity are
prominent
Thought is now more logical, abstract, and
idealistic

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Early Adulthood
The developmental period beginning in the
late teens or early twenties and lasting
through the thirties
A time of establishing personal and
economic independence
Also a time of career development
Early adults select a mate, start a family,
and rear children

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Middle Adulthood
The developmental period beginning around
40 years of age and extending to about 60
A time of expanding personal and social
involvement and responsibility
Also a time of assisting the next generation in
becoming competent
Middle adults reach and maintain satisfaction
in a career

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Late Adulthood
The developmental period beginning in the
sixties or seventies and lasting until death
A time of adjustment to decreasing strength
and health
Also a time of life review, retirement, and
new social roles

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Age Groups in Late Adulthood

The Young Old, or Old Age (65-74
years of age)
The Old Old, or Late Old Age (75
years and older)
The Oldest Old (85 years and older)

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Age and Happiness

No particular age group says
they are happier or more
satisfied than any
other age group.

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Conceptions of Age
Chronological Age
Biological Age
Psychological Age
Social Age

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Chronological Age
The number of years that have
elapsed since a persons birth

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Biological Age
A persons age in terms of
biological health

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Psychological Age
An individuals adaptive
capacities compared to those
of other individuals of the
same chronological
age

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Social Age
Refers to social roles and
expectations related to a
persons age

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Developmental
Issues

Nature and
Nuture

Continuity
And
Discontinuity

Stability
And
Change

Evaluating
The Developmental
Issues

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Developmental Issues
Nature and Nurture
Continuity and Discontinuity
Stability and Change

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The Nature-Nurture Issue

Involves the debate about
whether development is
primarily influenced by nature
or nurture

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Nature
An organisms biological
inheritance

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Nurture
An organisms environmental
experiences

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The Continuity-Discontinuity
Issue
This issue regarding whether
development involves gradual,
cumulative change (continuity)
or distinct stages
(discontinuity).

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Continuity
Development results from a
gradual process occurring over
several weeks, months, and
possibly years.

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Discontinuity
Development occurs through a
sequence of stages in which
change is qualitatively rather
than quantitatively different.

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The Stability-Change Issue

This issue involves the degree to which we
become older renditions of our early experience or
instead develop into someone different from who
we were at an earlier point in development.
It considers the extent to which early experiences
(especially in infancy) or later experiences are the
key determinants of a persons development.

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The Early-Later
Experience Issue
This issue has a long history of
being hotly debated among
developmental psychologists.

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The Early-Experience View

Some believe that unless infants
experience warm, nurturant
caregiving in the first year or so
of life, their development will
never be optimal.

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The Later-Experience View

Others believe that children are
malleable throughout
development and that later
sensitive caregiving is just
as important as earlier
sensitive caregiving.

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The Early-Later Experience

A number of life-span developmentalists stress
that too little attention has been given to later
experiences in development.
People in Western cultures tend to support the
idea that early experiences are more important
than later experiences.
By contrast, the majority of people in the world
do not share this belief.

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Evaluating the Developmental

Issues
Most life-span developmentalists recognize
that extreme positions are unwise.
The key to development is the interaction of
nature and nurture rather than either factor
alone.
There still exists strong debate regarding how
strongly development is influenced by each
of the factors.

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C a r e e r s in
L ife - S p a n
D e v e lo p m e n t

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Some Careers in Life-Span

Development

Audiologist
Child psychologist/psychiatrist
Child welfare worker
College/University professor
Day-care supervisor
Early childhood educator
Elementary/Secondary school teacher
Geriatric nurse or physician
Geropsychologist

Home health aide

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Some Careers in Life-Span

Development (cont)

Medical social worker

Pediatrician
Pediatric nurse
Physical therapist
Day-care supervisor
Preschool/Kindergarten teacher
Recreational therapist
Rehab counselor
School psychologist